Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.

So far I can see myself playing this game day in and day out. The amount of money you get from some common drops is enough to help you get by and start building your craft skills up without waiting hours for it to sell on the AH like before.

I haven't hit surplus, so no I do not care about it anymore. Maybe when/if I hit it I will, until then no.

I am at middle ground on the game so far. A lot has me excited about it, like the class abilities, the awesome clothing and armor, the involved and in-depth crafting system. While some things have me a bit annoyed, the 48 hour timer on leves, the slow Anima regeneration and the quest mobs that flee from you.

The game has a great deal more potential than FFXI. The systems are in place that, with some tweaking, there's a lot that SE could do to not only pique and preserve the interest of XI fans, but also provide the kind of mainstream appeal that would keep a healthy playerbase for years.

Unfortunately, at the present stage of things, SE has just blown it in too many different categories. About the only word I can come up with for altogether too many aspects of the game is "amateurish". I logged in briefly after the maintenance hoping to reactive the leve I was looking forward to doing a couple of nights ago. The one that awarded some nifty bronze chainmail for my gladiator. The one that wound up flagged as failed in my journal even though I never initiated it. In the process of trying to fill up my log and replace the leves I actually did complete with new ones, it also gobbled up the newly reactivated leve that awarded the armor. I ended up getting some piece of crap rank 10 leve that awarded cloth pants I already had and 3500gil. In fairness, it was user error that caused me to unintentionally exchange the leve I wanted to keep for one I didn't care about, but the thing is..I never selected that leve to exchange. It open already flagged to exchange in the window. So just like I failed it without ever having initiated it, I exchanged it without ever having flagged it to exchange. The failure was a bug, the exchange was user error resulting from a **** UI.

Party combat is another area that has potential but in its current form is just miserable. Targeting is terrible. A lot of the issues I have with parties right now have to do with players who just don't give a **** about functioning as a well oiled machine and are happy to run in and mash buttons, but at the same time the systems themselves don't lend to fluid group encounters. It just feels...clunky.

After logging out in disappointed following the leve debacle earlier tonight I decided to just log back in and do a couple of local levequests for crafting. As soon as I arrived in-game, I was greeted to RMT shout spam. No big deal...I just blacklist him and carry on. I had previously blacklisted one RMT spammer but wound up doing it the "long way" through the main menu. This time I tried the slash command... '/blist add <spammer>". Maybe I should have just typed his first name and pressed tab to get the last name? I don't know, but it popped up a window with two fields...one for first name, one for last. And I had to use my mouse to move between the fields. That's right...the tab key wouldn't move between fields.

Really?

Five years in development and the best I can say for the game two weeks before release is that it has potential. How much potential is up to SE. I still haven't decided whether or not I'll buy the game. If I do, I'll probably spend most of my time crafting (and hope like **** the retail version addresses the UI lag, if not the crap UI altogether).

I hope to see myself playing for the life cycle of the game. I know things will happen slowly as they did with FFXI and FFXI gave me 4 years of some of the best gaming moments I remember. Its an MMO they dont come out of the box on release day all polished and shiny, featuring everything an established MMO has. I am going to give it at least a year to see how it goes. I am in no rush to get to level cap and I can see there being a wealth of things to do in the future.

And I am looking forward to a good grind. Hopefully in a party environment. The first time I hit Valkurm Dunes in XI was great! I really enjoyed the 6 person experience party in FFXI its not something you tend to find in the other MMO's I have played. They're generally a solo affair until it comes to the odd dungeon.

Keeping in mind its targetting player database are still playing FFXI and that this game requires higher computer specs, I think there is a small chance it may flop, or may not depending on if certain issues are addressed or not. It is a shame these issues are still here so close to release, the games critique on launch will effect its long term subscriptions.

Quote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I was going to pre-order but I dont see myself buying the game until issues are fixed.

Quote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

I only started to care about it yesterday when all my 3 classes are getting 200 points down from 1000 and 500.

Quote:

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Son I am disappoint.

Quote:

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Feels like a reskinned FFXI due to terrible terrible UI, every MMO copies from others, I had hopes they could take afew things from the many MMOs that have come out since FFXI, especially the UI but instead they ignored them apart from the ability actionbar.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.

1) It has potential, to me it looks like a wonderful frame, it still needs a lot of space to fill in though.

2) Yes I think so, unfortunately I usually play "until the next best thing" (making emphasis on "best") cuz living the entire life of a MMORPG is not worth IMHO (just look what they are doing to FFXI)

3) Not really, after a solid week of constant play I didn't got to see the "bonus points" and my biggest fear that was the restriction on physical level (which we are leveling all the time) that fortunately doesn't seem to be affected by the surplus/bonus system.

4) I'm happy with what I have seen, and waiting for a big pleasant surprise with the retail version, nothing like expecting every problem solved but enough to let me enjoy the game.

5) Far from it, it's an RPG and it's online those are about the only 2 things in common these games have, however it doesn't make a FFXIV absolutely better than its predecessor, unfortunately many of the aspects* of FFXI that were working fine where re-mapped/re-designed and this time around look lacking, failing to deliver or simply wrong(I'm looking at you retailer system).

Ken

*I just want to further clarify here, while this may look like a contraction what I mean is that common aspects of RPG's (like equipping gear) are better handled in FFXI than FFXIV, that doesn't mean both games are the same or that one is only an upgrade of the other.

How it is right now, as much as I enjoy certain aspects, it won't be a power-player like WoW. And before anyone jumps on me about "STFU WoW N00B" I never played it. I am a FF11 player.

GuardianFaith wrote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I can - but I am already sick to death of repairing my items once or twice a day. Every ring, ear ring, necklace, bracelet... then the MAIN clothings? Its effin ridiculous. There was no need of it. I'm not sure how long I can endure it to be honest.

GuardianFaith wrote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Yes, by principle.

GuardianFaith wrote:

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Both, though mostly the second.

GuardianFaith wrote:

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.

I FEAR NOTHING!

I genuinely think it borrows too much from 11 (no new races, are you serious?) but all-in-all I am not TOO bothered bye it. If they clean up the targeting, streamline the repair system (or just drop the rubbish thing) and give me total control of where I want to put my buttons (like WAR did) I'd be far more happy. It's just a young game that will be polished over the years - but some of its core principles bother me.

How do you really feel about the game's future? Just like FFXI had a slow start, I think FFXIV will too, sure the hype is bigger but I think it will die down when its established who this game is for and who will leave it for something else. I'm sure FFXIV will have a lengthy and entertaining future to enjoy though.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?Yes, I played FFXI for four years. I had a huge fanboy crush on that game even before it was released and I feel the same about FFXIV. I think its the world, music and general feeling Final Fantasy games radiate that gets me excited.

Do you care about surplus anymore?I didn't care about it to begin with. Frankly rules established by the game makers are just that, rules in their game. You work arround them and play the game THEY designed. I just see it as another element or puzzle added to any game I've played over the years. You learn to utilize it to its fullest and thats that. If i wanted to play MY game with MY rules, i would make it instead.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?I can't be disappointed in a game I havent fully experienced yet. Give me a year and I'll give you a verdict. Right now im just excited.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?It feels like a new MMO with Final fantasy elements. Just like every Final Fantasy game feels like a RPG with Final fantasy elements.

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.The red arrows only purpose is to be feared! Don't mock the single purpose of its existance!

Make love to the green arrow though, It makes even the internet trolls happy!

Cool responses. Aurelius, you mentioned some things I only thought to myself. I didn't say anything to anyone, thinking they'd see it as crazy to get hung up on little details. I think it's the details that really count though. Everyone has some nice ideas whether for or against.

The single best thing that SE can do for this game is set up a WoW like lua system that allows people to program their own addons, and more importantly interface setups. I bet the community could come up with things a million times better than the default with just a little developer support. Building WoW around a language interface system was the single best thing about WoW and it still is teh awesome.

I don't know. I'm much too jaded with MMOs in general to present an unbiased answer. If I'm forced to answer: I don't see it really being any more successful than FFXI. It is a good MMO, but there's much work that needs to be done, and S-E isn't known for their speedy development as far as their franchise FF MMOs go.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I'll play it for a while, but I'm not some hardcore perpetual MMO'er. I'll probably play off and on over the years, just like I do with other MMOs.

Do you care about surplus anymore?I don't really feel that they should be restricting paying players from how they should play, but whatever. Doesn't bother me much.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

It's about what I'd expect from S-E.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

It has a lot of FFXI elements to it. I was hoping for more of a "new MMO." This feels like Buffalo Bill wearing someone's skin...ok, ok...I kid, but seriously -- I wish they took some more steps towards a unique MMO instead of one that has considerable FFXI influences.

Ok then. How do you really feel about the game's future?I'm not sure at this point. I think it depends greatly on SE's ability to open their minds beyond what they've stuck to for so many years.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?If I start to see promising content, more open areas without so many invisible walls, and a personal chocobo without finite charges? Yes. :)

Do you care about surplus anymore?No, not really.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?Both. Surprised by some of the sounds I hear (ambient sounds in Gridania are awesome). Disappointed in the clunky system that I personally think has nothing to do with beta, and everything to do with SE's lack of skill in the area. I wasn't surprised by this, I just had higher hopes for something more fluid like other developers have mastered in the past few years. I do enjoy the game some of the time though. I was really hoping for a way to get up and down knee height ledges. I really like the city of Ul'dah though. The Egyptian influence is right up my alley.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?It feels like a mixture. I definitely feel the FFXI vibe still. The overall scale of things, the character models/races, the UI, the very japanese facial expressions and animations, same cutscene designs. The battle system feels like a re-wrapped FFXI system on fast forward. Ul'dah's region looks like Tahrogi Canyon, Gridania's looks like a dark Kazham, and LL's looks like Konchtat Highlands. In short, to me it's about as FFXI as Cataclysm is WoW; pretty much the same only prettier.

How do you really feel about the game's future?This is definitely a tough one. Despite the outrage, I'm sure plenty of people will still be playing. I can't predict what will happen though. I also think we'll all be much happier when we see the retail. No doubt this open beta is a dead world, seems like so many things are missing and I'd be shocked if it stayed that way. With that I'm strictly talking about the life of the game world and the game content.

Though I'm not sure if their goals of reaching casual players and other mmo players will be a success. I think they want to stay true to the Final Fantasy series, pleasing FF fans like myself, while also pleasing everyone else. And in their efforts of trying to please everyone, they're turning people off. Maybe they can turn some of that around, we'll see.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?I think the game's great despite missing a lot of content in beta. I see room for improvement in the issues that bother me and plenty of potential for it to be a good game. I think I'll be playing for quite a while.

Do you care about surplus anymore?I finally hit "Bonus Experience" on conjurer tonight. In between ranks 16 & 17. Right now I'm only at the 10% stage so it's manageable, but the timing sucks. I'm finding myself in that "what if" scenario I thought I'd avoid...I'm loving conjurer and want to keep leveling it, but this system might prevent me from enjoying it. Gonna test it some more before I make a final thought on that. If the system doesn't somehow scale up with your level increases I see it being a problem at high levels when you need so much more experience per level. Also I've mainly been solo grinding for the most part, I wonder how it would hinder a very efficient party? This still concerns me about the system, but I need more info on it.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?I'm surprised at how much fun I have just grinding. The battles(especially with tougher mobs) can be so involved at times. Right now my biggest disappointment with the fighting is how quickly my weapon degrades. During that xping I did from 16-17 my weapon fell to 0% and I had just paid 6k+ to have it repaired to 75%. It's a optimal22 weapon & I'm not a carpenter so the only repair I can do is in town. This is another system that I see good potential in, but needs some changes. If you let your weapon hit 0% the performance is painfully poor, but you don't want to run all the way to town & leave the great camping spot you just found. Again, this is something that can & hopefully will be improved.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?It definitely doesn't feel like a brand new game. Some of the things I think I pick up on quicker than others just from XI experience. Knowing how SE works, which might be dangerous = P With the potential I see in it, it could end up being what I would've wanted out of XI. Though I doubt it'll turn out exactly the way I see it.

Pretty unsteady right now if you ask me. I can easily see the game falling flat on its face within a few months time at the rate its going right now. Please SE, change my mind.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Generic answer go. If they fix all of the glaring flaws in the game right now, and actually LISTEN to their players (which in FFXI took them almost 8 years to start doing), then yes, I COULD see myself playing for a long while.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

So far, not really. I'm level 5+ on every job right now, and enjoy mixing it up. Hasn't effected me in the slightest as of yet.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

As much as I hate to admit it, because I'm the biggest Final Fantasy fanboy out there, I'm really disappointed. As has been said, you would think in the almost 6 years they've been developing this game, it wouldn't come out of the factory looking like it does right now. I do, however, have faith that most if not all the current issues will be addressed and fixed over time. The real question is, will that be before or after they've lost most of their player base? I feel they've spent far too much time making the game look pretty, and not enough time making it feel like, well, a game. After playing in the OB, it honestly makes me want to go back to FFXI, because in my opinion, as of right now -- FFXI is a much much better game, but hopefully over time that all changes.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

FFXI 2.0, without a doubt. Did they really expect to reuse all the FFXI races, call them something else and people NOT immediately think FFXI (if they played it) every single time they logged on? Its not a BAD thing per say, because I played FFXI for well over 5 years. I just think overall it kind of shows SE's lack of creativity.

____________________________

Rinsui wrote:

Yep. Every netbook with an atom processor nowadays plays WoW. ****, I am sure with some tweaking it would run on an iphone. Or even on the LCD display of my microwave.

Because of the hype, I think a lot of players will try it. If the game still has a grind gameplay and there is a lot of botting/RMT around, my prediction is that most of the players will unsub within 3 months.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Yes and no. It depends on how FFXIV evolves in the next few months. I am not interested in CATA or TERA. But RIFT and SW:TOR are appealing to me. If FFXIV is still fun to play, I will keep on playing and set the other interesting games on my "to do list". As long as I have fun I keep playing.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Do not care about it at all.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Disappointed and surprised at the same time. Disappointed because SE did not learn from mistakes made in the past. Surprised because I feel immersed by the game.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Feels like FFXI 2.0 but they left out a lot of the good things unfortunately.

A bit shaky. Expectations are different nowadays than when FFXI came out and I think critique can be quite hurtful to the game's launch and possibly in turn hurt the PS3 launch later on. There is also a lot more competition in the market generally speaking and I would also assume that this game has had a much larger budget sunk into it than FFXI did, which could make a dwindling playerbase hurt. But I don't really know. It's tough to speculate on these things.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I'm having decent fun at the moment with the beta but unless more variety is added in terms of what there is to do then I can't see myself playing for long. I especially enjoy that they have expanded gathering jobs and crafting into more "real" jobs, but even so there is the all-mighty grind. I think it desperately needs A) more goals to aim for besides just gaining another level and B) more side-activities (that feel rewarding in their own right) in general. I'm not sure whether I'll buy the game or not. I'm leaning towards yes at the moment but with the monthly fee, if there aren't any big improvements really soon, then I can't see myself paying to continue playing.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

I still think it's a poor solution to the "problem", but I haven't run into it myself nor do I think I will so I don't care that much.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

I am fairly disappointed. I think in terms of basic functionality especially, the game feels absolutely archaic. It's extremely clunky at times (I'd argue even more than FFXI in some areas), and I think that's just unforgivable nowadays really. Aside from how horrendously laggy and badly laid out the interface is... well. I don't mind figuring out systems, how to optimize my performance and stuff, where to find the hard-to-catch fishes. I don't mind "hardcore" games at all, I tend to like them. But the most basic things should not be hidden behind crappy menus and lots of time spent searching. For example, an in-game manual or tutorial should be readily available (not forced though) right away to a new player. The fact that many people don't even know that the Call of Adventure is a manual of sorts (a crappily written one I might add) speaks volumes. And why should they? There is no indication whatsoever that it *is* a manual in the first place. Or why on earth there isn't an in-game recipe book that I could copy the recipes I learn through guildleves into.

Easy to learn, hard to master anyone? Like I said, I love challenging games. But the challenge should not lie in figuring out the most basic of game-mechanics. That's just boring and frustrating.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

I think in many ways it does feel like a re-skinned FFXI. I don't think that's a bad thing per say though. There are some things I wish they wouldn't just have brought over (like the races) but overall, I don't mind the *direction* they've taken with the game. It's just that the execution is so off in certain areas that it gets in the way of enjoying the game.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.

I really think FFXIV will be a great game and it'll continue to evolve. I don't think it will be as popular as some other MMOs, but I think it's a great game for the people who loved FFXI and other games like it. It'll be a niche MMO but that's not a bad thing to me.

I can see myself playing for at least as long as FFXI, depending on how well I can manage my future full-time job and my other hobbies.

I don't think surplus will affect me personally because I don't see myself playing 8-10 hours a day like I could in the past.

I would say I'm pleasantly surprised, but I knew that I would like this game before the beta came out.

It definitely reminds me of FFXI, but I can tell it'll be less time-consuming.

The immersion factor in this game is wonderful to me. No other MMO besides FFXI compares.

There are problems, definitely, but most of the things that I don't really like are small things and probably will be improved/changed over time.

Some of these things are the retainer system in its current state. I have no problems with not having an AH, just make shopping a less time-consuming task (then again, SE might mean for it to be time-consuming). I don't like how random rank point gain is. Some mobs I kill give ~200 and others give ~50. Grouping also doesn't have a clear advantage from soloing right now (me only getting to rank 12 Marauder could have something to do with it). The repair system is cool, but I wish it took a little longer for your gear to weaken. I'm always in the red no matter how much I repair.

I think it's going to reach a plateau (or lull) in subscriptions after the first month or two. After that SE will just concentrate on the console release and the occasional patches for us, but I don't see them doing anything major in terms of listening to our issues, it's clear that the console release is the priority and the game is designed for that date. Disappointing as that is.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I enjoy the levelling of classes enough that I think I'll stick at it, I just hope that there are more quests/storyline added than once every 10 levels, as if it's literally leve 4 levels or so, grind 6 levels, new quest, repeat...I could stand it, but it would get old. Diversity at higher levels would be great.

That said I've deliberately been playing in stunted sessions, because I can feel the addiction of playing there and I want to save it for release. So that has to be a good sign.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

I wasn't that fussed anyway, I don't have enough hours free in the day for it to affect me.

This game has captured my attention and continues to hold it ever since I first heard about it over a year ago. The amount of content that is available right now with even more on release is simply staggering. For a fairly indecisive person such as myself, being able to switch classes on the fly and jump into a whole new playing field is both a paradise and nightmare as I try and figure out which paths to take! The environments are beautiful and the city storyline is great - I actually WANT to see what happens next in each quest and I feel that this will drive a lot of players as well.

I played FFXI for a number of years before shutting down shop in about 2008 and since then I have not found a single other MMORPG that managed to hold my attention for more than a month (Aion, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings to name a few - ok ok! I played WoW for a bit). To sum up my feelings about this game's future: this game IS the next best thing and will be THE best thing MMORPG players will see for a long time coming.

How do you really feel about the game's future? Not so great.. If it is this ****** at release well.. Then it will perhaps be the most worst release for an mmo in the history of the mmo market.. However this is not the case, if everything gets smoothed out in like 2 weeks or so.. this game should survive the first 2 years.. and if no progress is done in 2 years.. then it will just overrun by Diablo 3 (speculated).. and any new amazing game that comes out in 2012

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing? I loled.. Obviously till the next best thing.. I am only playing this because A) I don't like WoW.. B) too late to play FFXI .. C) Every other p2p game on the market sucks.. i.e. APB, Stargate online (or w.e. its called).. D) I am way too late to join any other mmo in the market.. that is worth it right now.

Do you care about surplus anymore? I have a life.. so in that case no.. 1 hour gaming per day.. won't get me anywhere near surplus

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even? At first I was surprised O.O .. then after 3 days of beta I was like -.- ...

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new? How would I know I never played FFXI .. In terms of grinding.. Then no this game offers nothing new.. other than the god dam annoying mini game when crafting.. Grinding is still boring as ****.. Which goes to show how this game is not next gen at all.. graphic wise yes.. but gameplay wise.. this game is still stuck in 2001.

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow. Do I look like I give a dam.. about down voting.. Only people with humongous emo gives a crap about that stuff.

____________________________

WoW: we want to give players a more fun time with less grinding and generic quests GW2: we want the player to feel like they are leveling while doing something fun Final Fantasy XIV: we want less fun and more grinding

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?I can't be disappointed in a game I havent fully experienced yet. Give me a year and I'll give you a verdict.

You can be disappointed as soon as you start paying to play the game. I don't know where this mentality comes from, but we do not owe MMO companies a year or more of monthly payments before we start being expressing our disapointments with the game design and performance. Obviously, it should improve over time, but I expect to be able to enjoy the game as soon as I start shelling my money over to play it every month.

I think the game will be a success, more so in the short term since this about the most publicity an SE Online game has gotten in years, so there are lots of new people who want to try a new MMO. With that said, I think if they don't clean up some of the obvious issues, like the UI, then long-term the success will be comparable to FFXI or slightly better. I doubt that's the success SE has in mind, so they better get to working on it.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I can see myself playing for quite awhile, I mean, I played FFXI for years doing nearly everything it had to offer, leveling 6 jobs to 75, over 300 merit points, so it's safe to say I like the FF series & don't mind grinding and dealing with the general abuse SE gives. Not sure why though, I just do. It's one of those things you just can put your finger on.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Resoundingly, YES! I was a huge proponent against it when all the raging was goign on. I will say though, I haven't experienced it in open beta, but then again I haven't been grinding it out as I likely will on Retail. I still fear the scenario that TwistedOwl called out above, where he's 16/17 and started to hit it - what happens when you're higher level? What happens when you form a party, 20 minutes into one of the party members hits surplus and says ***** it, "Sorry guys, don't want to exp anymore, I'm getting surplus, good luck finding a rep"?

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Both - I pleasantly surprised by the graphics, but they can only get you so far. The good thing, is some of the nice touches, like going from the city to the outlands without laoding really adds to the realism and has me immersed in the game. That is, until some of the nagging issues start to outweigh and/or interfere with my immersion, that will become a pretty big problem and I think that's what everyone is trying to say. I'm also very concerned about item durability and whether or not it will add an element to the game that is nothing but an annoyance. If only SE would be more open to communication and help answer some of these questions, it would really go a long way. They haven't learned this ever, and I never expect them to. Really a shame.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

On the surface, it feels familiar to FFXI while certainly being a new MMO. Nearly all the mechanics have changed, other than the graphics style retaining the standard FF style that we all love!

I think it'll die down to FFXI or lower numbers within a year. They'll keep up adding content for both games, but spreading their efforts thin.

Quote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I'm starting to think that I'll probably drop 14 for the old republic.

Quote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Yes. Even though grinding in this game seems so much less enjoyable than other games I've played, I don't think I'll spend nearly as much time doing it, and I doubt I'll hit surplus much. However, a dumb system is dumb if its affecting me or not.

Quote:

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

I'm disappointed due to the several negative aspects that have been only revealed in the last month. Examples being surplus, lowered importance of guildleves, difficulty leveling caster classes, too much focus on crafting/not enough focus on combat.

It's going be to great. Predict that FFXIV will have a higher peak subscription count than FFXI.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Absolutely, a long time.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

I have triplets so this will likely never effect me. If it did, I would go do something else and still enjoy my gametime.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Exactly what I was hoping for. A beautiful world with plently to do. Enjoying every minute.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

The battle system is completely new. The familiar parts are welcome as well. I think it will play differently overall, but people will use their FFXI knowledge as often as possible for communication and strategy.

Being perfectly honest, I can't even make myself log in to play the game. If I see another cut scene in a MMO I may punch my montor.

It is a completely free game at the moment, it is brand spankin new, my PC runs it acceptably well, I am not playing any other MMOs right now, and I would STILL rather do something else like watch reruns of 'Man, Woman, Wild' on Discovery channel.

If I am so bored with the game I won't even play it for free, I certainly won't be paying money to play it.

#31runtheplacered,
Posted:Sep 10 2010 at 10:01 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) First of all, you're wrong.. obviously. The two games are completely different. But I also absolutely hate this statement. Do you understand what "reskinning" something means? It's a completely different engine so how could a "reskin" possibly matter in anyway shape or form?

How do you really feel about the game's future?I fear greatly for the future of this game. It seems like SE chose to many lock-step fanboys to be in the closed beta and not enough objective testers that want the game to be accessible,intuitive, and bug free. If all the glaring errors, ridiculous and archaic mechanics are not solved or made public that they know about it and have a plan in work for it I see this performing worse than global agenda. Besides Phantasy Star, the Final Fantasy series has captured my imagination like no other and the recent travesties(FFXIII) and this steaming pile are very disappointing.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?I played FFXI for seven years, when FFXIV was announced at E3 I saw another adventure filled seven years ahead of me. After the open beta, I see myself, out of love for the series, playing this for a few months and then waiting for the old republic to drop.

Do you care about surplus anymore?Yes I care about the fatigue system. It is stupidity bordering on monkeys throwing ***** at a wall seeing if it will stick.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?I'm am very disappointed but pleasantly surprised that good ol' SE is still par for the course.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?To compare this to FFXI would be an insult to it's legacy. Crystal Tools is not new.

How do you really feel about the game's future?I think it will survive if only because the MMO market is really different in Japan. They don't have WoW and it probably wouldn't do very well there anyway. FFXI has been around for over eight years now, and people are looking for something new. Even if the game doesn't do quite as well in the West as FFXI, it will still stay strong on Japanese subscriptions.

As for the future of the game other than financially, we can only hope that a retail release will highlight enough of the big issues for SE to finally take notice.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?I'd like it to be a game I play for a long time, if only because I've tried a lot of MMOs over the years and usually end up returning to FFXI. It's old now and I'd really like something new to stick with. It will at least have a strong story like FFXI, so hopefully they can fix all its ridiculous problems so I can enjoy it more.

Do you care about surplus anymore?I haven't hit it in open beta. It seems we mostly hit it in the final closed beta round because leves were giving far too much skill and EXP, so we hit the threshold in only a couple days. Granted, I've mostly been exploring and, like most people, am not too interested in trying to grind ranks out knowing they will be wiped in two weeks. I'm still a little concerned it will be a problem once the game goes live and we're all trying a lot harder to progress.

Of particular concern are the two magic classes and people who plan to use one as their "main." It seems everyone has MP and a fighter class could make use of some magic, such as Shock Spikes, Cure, Protect, etc. There are also several melee abilities to mix and match among the various classes, but it seems those would be less useful for the mages. Add to that there are only two magic classes, and they may have a harder time with surplus just switching between the two than people wanting to build a melee class and switching between three or four to gather abilities.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?Not surprised by too much anymore, being in since alpha. I hope to be surprised at the number of things they've held back from us come retail though.

Disappointment mostly lies in so many things being good at first glance but clunky or awkward when you look deeper. Like leves seem like a nice way to pick up extra skill/EXP that's also somewhat more unique than other MMOs' quest systems, but there's a crazy long cooldown on them and the rewards are frustratingly randomized. Crafting being given attention on the level of combat classes seems like a really great idea, but the sluggish UI and ridiculously complex recipes just to make newbie junk that could be gained from a quick leve make it an exercise in frustration. Not to mention the terrible skill gain rate compared to the combat classes or the loss of all ingredients upon (fairly common) failure. The market wards sound like a nice alternative to the generic AH all MMOs have now, but the way it's implemented, with everyone shoving their retainer in the first ward in each city and no ability to search but to just check each individually, it's downright awful.

Then there are the simple things they just refuse to fix despite being major gripes of players since alpha, like the lack of hardware mouse support. It's disappointing to be invited to give feedback, nearly everyone giving the same feedback, and then being told they don't want to do it anyway. How can people even begin to ask for little things like an in-range indicator for ranged abilities when they won't even listen to 90% of people asking for something like hardware mouse? Surplus sort of falls in here too. Everyone complains about it all over the Internet, and people make legitimate arguments about how it's a punishment for people who play a lot, not a reward for those who don't (leveling isn't a kind of zero-sum game), but they latch on to the most ridiculous statements about only being able to play an hour a day and telling us we misunderstand their system completely, foreign sites are to blame for all the rumors, and they're not changing it because we just don't see their awesome vision.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?It feels very oddly like both. It seems they picked very strange things to keep, like all of the races (with no truly new ones), three main cities to come from, etc. Everything that actually matters to the way the game plays, like the flow of combat, party mechanics, character growth...it's all completely different from FFXI. I would have almost thought they'd go with the opposite - keeping some gameplay elements but changing the visuals completely. I guess that just makes more sense for a sequel to me.

Apathetic. If it does well, great. I'll keep an eye out to see if LOTS of improvements are made. If they're not, XI will be king.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Cancelled my pre-order. Saw that SWTOR was pushed back until March (i.e. no rushed release). That game looked more interesting to me anyway, but my love for XI made me want to go to XIV. But... Bioware MMO? And in the SWTOR universe? Must. Play. Game.

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Still think it's a bloody stupid idea, but no.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Disappointed. Very, very disappointed. The company's gone downhill rapidly ever since the Enix merger. FF games used to be a must buy... ever since 12 they've been a maybe buy. Bioware are the new kings of RPG's in my mind.

Never have, never will. People seem to be quite objective on this forum, for the most part. Which is refreshing. And unexpected.

Kudos to you all for actually posting facts and good answers to all the threads. Even if the game is bad right now, these kinds of posts will help it to improve (this is if SE are reading them of course).

How do you really feel about the game's future?I think it will do pretty well - certainly it won't be mega-huge, but I think it will do okay. My prediction is big launch - some dropped subs and then a big population increase with PS3 users.

Then a few months after that when things have smoothed out and there is an expansion and new jobs I see subs rising again. If the UI lag isn't fixed by launch they will definitely lose some subs. I'm willing to wait it out though even though I'd like to see it fixed.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?Yeah. I don't care about the next best thing. I plan on sticking it out in the long term because I don't have a crap ton of time to spend playing these games, so I want to stick with one. This one is going to look great for years and will only get better with expansions and more disciplines to mix and match with. I hope they fix some of the basic issues right away but the game is playable as is and will only get better with time.

Do you care about surplus anymore?I never did.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Neither. I will save my disappointment/pleasant surprise for release. Open beta is pretty much what I expected if not a little better.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?It feels pretty new to me.

____________________________

lolgaxe wrote:

When it comes to sitting around not doing anything for long periods of time, only being active for short windows, and marginal changes and sidegrades I'd say FFXI players were the perfect choice for politicians.

Launch I think will be good, because people want the shiny new toy. However I think there may be a population drop in the months after. At which point SE will probably react by finally fixing whatever problems they will still be ignoring at the time.

What will definitely turn me off is if this game becomes all about microtransactions, which I'm 75% sure will be the case. Already we have 4 bonus items, 2 of which are from buying unrelated products. We have microtransactions now for extra characters/retainers. And then there's the ominous 'crysta' system, which I can just feel they will put into effect a couple months in, and start selling gamebreakingly irresistible unique items for 5$ a pop. I think when they say 'casual', this is what they see; the people that spend money to pimp out their avatar on webkins or w/e.

Sure you don't have to buy it, but SE has a bad habbit of making these items too big an advantage to pass up: Mog satchel - Double inventory for 10$ (wtf!) Mini expansions - Pimp gear stats people crave, and unique things like movement speed. Abyssea1 - 500%~ increase in experience points + top of the line gear. 10$. Abussea2 - Relic2 gear, many with omgwtf stats. 20k~ exp in 10 minutes solo. 10$.

All of these give you a huge advantage if you pay up. If you don't you fall behind, and that's something most people can't afford to do in a MMO.

Quote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I'm thinking about switching over to this from FFXI for a while, and see if I truly do play more 'casually' and less obsessively than FFXI (once the initial rush passes). I won't pay for/play both at once, though I will take their shiny shoes TYVM.

Quote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Not right now, But when TNLs get huge, and surplus kicks in 1/4 into your level, I will hate it. Whatever the reason they claim to have implemented it, the REAL reason for the system is to keep us from finding 'colibri' party setups and leveling faster than they want us to. This idiotic obsession with controlling our progression has always smacked of product insecurity to me.

The simple answer is this : Say in FFXI they implemented a cap on exp, 4k/hour.

Er not sure what the question is referring to, but as for the game in general. I was surprised that I liked it enough to preorder. I'm extremely disappointed to see them sticking to old mistakes (even though they corrected them in FFXI), and not sticking with what worked in FFXI, like the interface/menu/bazaar browsing/quick simple purchase dialogs.

So really those break even. I'm interested in the product but worried about it's glaring problems.

Quote:

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

It feels halfway. Having instanced monsters/areas from the start is a great sign though, probably no more competing over things etc... However looking over all the classes' abilities, It seems there's nothing really different from FFXI in the way each class functions. Most of these classes feel like they squished 2-3 classes together.

But again all the Beta's problems that should never have gotten past inception, based on the lessons of FFXI, make me wonder if we're in for same frustrating 'us VS SE' ride that FFXI was until the last year or 2.

I am still questioning many things about that mythical endgame beast, but generally fairly positive. I think that they are going to do as well with FFXIV as they did with FFXI. I'm not sure they are going to dramatically expand their user base though, as the game is definitely a niche game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Quote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Depends on your definition of, "next best thing". I definitely don't see anything on the horizon that competes with the graphics. That said, I'm sure that I will be trying both SWTOR, RIFT and possibly GW2 when they come out, but all 3 of those seem like they are going to be more shiny and less captivating for long term entertainment.

Quote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

That's making the blatant assumption that I cared about it to begin with. I was always expecting that I'd never hit it and that people were making way too big a deal about it, which seems to be accurate.

Quote:

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Both. The learning curve doesn't bother me and is surprising me as the more I look the things that people claim are broken are really just a completely new system rather than the same old system. Some of the UI decisions are very disappointing though. I'm currently planning on enjoying FFXIV in spite of the UI.

Quote:

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

I never played FFXI past level 20, so I can't really say. I will say that the systems like crafting, mana regen and the aggro mechanics make things feel like a totally new game and like nothing else that's come before it. How well those new systems work in the long run is going to be interesting to see.

Being perfectly honest, I can't even make myself log in to play the game. If I see another cut scene in a MMO I may punch my montor.

It is a completely free game at the moment, it is brand spankin new, my PC runs it acceptably well, I am not playing any other MMOs right now, and I would STILL rather do something else like watch reruns of 'Man, Woman, Wild' on Discovery channel.

If I am so bored with the game I won't even play it for free, I certainly won't be paying money to play it.

How do you really feel about the game's future?To be quite honest, how the beta was handled made me lose faith in SE completely. I suppose I might have been spoiled by other game companies' openness recently but all this secrecy and refusal to communicate with us and address our worries about the game are disappointing. It won't make the game bad but it means I have no idea where this is going and if the game is going to be right for me.

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?No idea! If it turns out to be a FFXI in which you can get started doing something in less than 3 hours then I'll play a lot for many years. I loved FFXI, but I didn't have enough huge chunks of times to play it correctly. If it turns out to be WoW with chocobos... well then I'll buy Cataclysm when it comes out instead.

Do you care about surplus anymore?If they would tell us clearly what it does now and what it will do exactly when the game comes out, no I wouldn't worry about it. I'd just adapt my gaming style to it. But since it's still all a big mystery, yeah it worries me.

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?A mix of both.

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?There isn't enough in the game to tell yet... and if all that's in the game right now is all we'll have for a while, then it feels like a cool tech demo. That doesn't like my computer :P

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.Bottom line for me, I'm likely to cancel my pre-order since I have so many doubts and my computer is just barely running the game (1500 benchmark). Then I'll wait for PS3 release next year and if the game is worth it I'll just buy a PS3 and play on it instead.

I think the game has a lot of potential. I think it will be around for a long time. I do not think it's going to be as mainstream as WoW is but i am ok with that.

Quote:

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

I see myself playing for a very long time. I played FFXI for three years straight then two years after on and off. I even went back for a couple of months last year. I don't do the "next best thing" I do what appeals to me.

Quote:

Do you care about surplus anymore?

What is surplus?..Jking I know what it is, I just have not gotten it yet. It doesn't concern me much, what concerns me is the way we skill up classes. I think they need to have a better way of doing it. I can fight two mobs back to back with no Surplus and not get good skill ups. And I'm fighting Green mobs, so not fighting anything below my level. I get the best skill ups spamming Spirit Dart.....

Quote:

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

I'm more surprised than disappointed. When it releases and I play for a while, I'll get back to this question..

Can you see yourself playing for a long time? or just until the next best thing?

Do you care about surplus anymore?

Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised even?

Does it feel like FFXI2.0 or something totally new?

Be honest and don't fear the red arrow.

I feel like the overzealous (and enthusiastic) fanboys will keep this game hobbling along for the first 6 months or so of its life. Then, perhaps, the PS3 release will be able to inject another brief surge of fanatics to help make it reach that 6 month mark. How the game develops and sustains itself is up to the development team. Will they make the UI not suck? Is the interface lag really just because everything's server side and they will put it client side after the beta? Will they enable the hardware mouse? Will they allow me to /r or ctrl +r to reply? Will I be able to use ctrl + I and other keyboard shortcuts to bring up key inventory items like equipment, loot pool, journal, and most other things? Will the keyboard remapping actually work (IE: change camera from the ungodly ijkl to the arrow keys?) Will my action bar start to remember what slots I have remembered for the various classes, or will I have to continue to design macros for EVERY discipline in the game? Will they make a "make a macro button" to simplify this process and make it less annoying? Will they continue to ask me to equip a skill in main hand or off hand despite the game knowing (and being able to check) if a skill is mainhand/offhand only? Will I still fail levequests when I d/c or crash? Will they continue to have random monsters (I'm looking at you dodo's and ant diggers) that are so beyond the level of the area as to one shot you when you happen too close? Will they increase the linearity of the mob progression?

One of FFXI's greatest flaws was how long it took to do get anywhere. (Eventually, that got better with OP warps, but it could still take a ridiculous amount of time.) Will they increase the recharge rate on anima so that isn't an issue for their "casual" audience? With so little free time, I can't imagine that the "casual" player wants to waste 30-45 minutes a game sitting running around because teleporting the 10 minute run constantly isn't feasible? Also, if they want to do all of their battle craft levequests they will have to teleport to another city to finish them in one day. (Otherwise, if they don't complete all 8 in their 48 hour allotment, they will have wasted away experience and skill points.) I would love to be able to play this for multiple years like I did FFXI, but unless square shows me that they did learn something from FFXI (like I thought they did later in its development) the only good MMO to really play, from a design standpoint, is WoW. I would love to play FFXIV, but as it stands now the concious design decisions (not even bugs) are so infuriating (particularly when juxtaposed the delightful implementations of crafting and gathering and other good design choices) that I just can't imagine being able to stick with the game until it's good.

I abhor the surplus system. Every fiber of my gamer soul quivers with unbearable rage at the audacity square has to suppose that they can discipline me into playing how they want. After working 40+ hours in a week, being told what to do by multiple bosses, and having to put up with asshat co-workers I really do not want to be told what to do by my game. My escape. That's what this comes down to. I could play till eternity and never see the surplus system; yet, every moment I would anxiously look to see if I was affected. Every time I would breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Every time I would curse the developers who threaten me with the sting of a stick rather than the crunch of a carrot.

The skillpoints system? My mages can't get it by casting their spells? Skill points is proportional to your luck and the damage you do? Why should I party again? Why should I party as a mage? I won't want to heal. I'll want to spam ghost dart as much as ******* possible so I can rank up. What *** backwards system rewards a healer for not healing?

If you couldn't tell, I am disappointed with this game. I wanted it so very much to be good. Dreaming of being able to get my FFXI crew back together under the flag of one game, one server, and one pearl, but instead I am left shaking with indecision. The core of FFXIV is not rotten; in fact, dare I say, it is superlative. A system that encourages people to do everything? (While the seeming requirement for them to do everything is a tad annoying to put it mildly.) What a wonderful system! I get encouraged to be ADD with jobs and experience the full plethora of activities the game has to over. When I bother to slug through the interface that is more infested with rats and roaches than new york city, if lag were roaches and rats, crafting has never felt so rewarding. I believed they had learned something with FFXI. I truly felt as if they were on the right track, but I just don't know now. Where is the Square that so long ago was actually worthy of my patronage? I miss you.

I feel like the overzealous (and enthusiastic) fanboys will keep this game hobbling along for the first 6 months or so of its life.

Because if someone likes something that you don't then they're an overzealous fanboy? I didn't play FFXI and I'm enjoying this game just fine. I don't really need you to tell me that I like something for some made up reasons.. thanks though.

anima is fine the way it is. the game should allow people to walk around, and we should all be able to see people walking around and playing, not deadlands simply because nobody bothers to walk anywhere. im anti-teleporting constantly. teleporting the way it is now is perfect. ps, ride a chocobo or take an airship

@Kaelia Thank you for the kind words. I am not a writer by profession (though I was granted authorship on a scientific paper), and I do not necessarily consider myself a writer by hobby, but I suppose my love for written literature and my rapid consumption of books would suggest otherwise.

runtheplacered wrote:

Because if someone likes something that you don't then they're an overzealous fanboy? I didn't play FFXI and I'm enjoying this game just fine. I don't really need you to tell me that I like something for some made up reasons.. thanks though.

I suppose I invited this upon myself, and so I shall man up. I am sorry to have used a term that offended you, and I am also regretful that you did inferred that I do not like FFXIV from my post (though I would not say that inference is wrong.) I am more disappointed that you did not fully grasp how much I do like the game, but there's so much that I dislike I can't stand playing it.

At any rate, I used the term fanboy simply as a device to illustrate there are some among us who would be handed a steaming pile of **** by square, but because it had cloud's hair they would praise it as the greatest thing of all time. These same people find nothing wrong whatsoever in FFXIV, and by any reasonable metric of game evaluation, that is simply not true. I did not mean to imply that anyone who likes the game and wants to buy it is a fanboy. I merely wanted to use an extreme demographic as a venting point.

sorry but the mass 'ffvii' fanboy types that you refer to arent the brunt of the ffxi and ffxiv fanbase. those ffvii fans are likely playing wow or some other zippy rpg. if not modern warfare. stop labelling FF fans as being what they were 5 years ago, it got old back then. i dont know any super crazy 'ff zealots' that you speak of. the ones ive come across in the past were never interested in ffxi, being a slow and undynamic mmo

anima is fine the way it is. the game should allow people to walk around, and we should all be able to see people walking around and playing, not deadlands simply because nobody bothers to walk anywhere. im anti-teleporting constantly. teleporting the way it is now is perfect. ps, ride a chocobo or take an airship

I do not mean to be facetious, but your logic is flawed. Allowing people the option to teleport more regularly does not take away the ability for people to walk around. Furthermore, teleporting does not necessarily produce deadlands. Zones that have no uses for people to be in produces deadlands; however, you unwittingly brought up a valid point. There is no implementation of neither chocobos nor airships. The problem with airships, is that unless it is near-instantaneous it does not bridge the problem: limited free time for players. What would you rather spend time doing, running around or achieving something like quest/mission completion or rank ups? In the event you choose the unlike "running to a destination" or bring up the "exploring" card (which I feel has merit, exploring the game is cool), please keep in mind that more frequent teleports do not keep you from exploring; however, less frequent teleports keeps people from doing what they want. Shouldn't the game facilitate fun for the player in whatever form that may take?

I have encountered people who have taken a very staunch FFXIV is perfect standpoint. They allowed for no admission of any fault or any area that needed improvement. They believed it was amazing, and I have no other means of describing such a person. Also, my hyperbole involving cloud did not restrict myself to the time frame of FFVII fanboys. I'm speaking in generalities, not specificity here. I care not what games the people obsessed with FFVII play.